Let NY Vote Releases Digital Ad Demanding Early Voting

New York lags behind 37 states that already have early voting

NEW YORK, NY (01/07/2019) (readMedia)-- As Albany lawmakers prepare to head back to the Capitol, the Let NY Vote coalition released a digital ad calling for early voting -- which would allow voters to cast ballots in person at least two weeks, including weekends, before Election Day -- in New York.

"If there's one thing this year's dysfunctional Election Day taught us, it's that New York needs early voting now. There's no reason we should be trying to cram millions of voters into a 15-hour window on a single day, while 37 other states enjoy days or weeks to vote. New Yorkers need at least two weekends to vote early, flexibility to change parties and full restoration of rights for people on parole. It's time to see if a unified Democratic government can truly deliver on progressive voting reforms," said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY.

After another dysfunctional Election Day in New York in November, Let New York Vote and Common Cause/NY hosted a series of people's hearings where hundreds of New Yorkers signed up to share their voting stories and discuss solutions such as early voting, automatic voter registration, flexibility to change parties, and pre-registration of 16 and 17-year-olds.

Background:

Last year, Let NY Vote, formerly known as Easy Elections NY, formed as a statewide coalition of organizations & grassroots groups fighting to modernize New York's elections. The goal is to pass simple solutions in 2019 to improve our elections and remove barriers to registering and voting for all eligible New Yorkers, such as:

Early Voting: in place in 37 other states, allowing citizens to cast ballots in person days, sometimes weeks, before an election.

Automatic Voter Registration: in place in 16 other states, allows eligible voters to automatically register to vote when they interact with a state agency and provides a vehicle for those agencies to efficiently transfer voter registration information to the Board of Elections.

Flexibility to Change Parties: 49 States have open primaries or allow voters to change their party close to Election Day. New York does neither. Instead, New York has the most restrictive deadline in the country. To participate in the 2018 primary, voters had to register this change more than 6 months earlier, before candidates had even been solidified, disenfranchising up to 3 million registered NY voters.

Consolidation of Primary Dates: Currently New York has two primary days in June and September, confusing voters. New York is the only state with two primaries.